Catholic Social Teaching Our tradition of justice Caritas study and discussion programme SOLIDARITY Introduction: This is one of seven 90 minute sessions on principles of Catholic social teaching. They can be used as an individual one-off session on a particular Catholic social teaching principle or as a series of seven sessions. They are designed to be used by a group of 4-10 people, but can also be adapted for individual study and reflection. They are based on a set of seven posters and videos, available from the Caritas office and also provided on the Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand website: www.caritas.org.nz/resources/cst If used as a group, it is suggested that participants gather around a table with a focal point, such as a cross and candle as a centre. It will help to have facilitator to lead the sessions and encourage full participation, and a timekeeper to light the candle at the beginning, assist in keeping the group on track time-wise and set up the video. Each session are framed around the SEE-TIROHIA JUDGE-WĀNANGATIA ACT-MAHIA model of reflection and action. Times are approximate only but it is important that the whole session concludes after 90 minutes.
SOLIDARITY Walking Together Catholic Social Teaching Our tradition of justice Opening Prayer Open with the sign of the cross in English, Te Reo Māori and other languages of the group: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Ki te ingoa o te Matua, o te Tamaiti, o te Wairua Tapu. Āmene. May Christ inflame the hearts of all people to break through the barriers which divide them, to strengthen the bonds of mutual love, to learn to understand one another, and to pardon those who have done them wrong. Through Christ s power and inspiration may all peoples welcome each other to their hearts as brothers and sisters, And may the peace we long for ever flower and ever reign among us. Amen. (St John XXIII) Introductions If this is the first time the group has met, or if there are new people in the group, allow time for brief introductions. SEE - TIROHIA (30 mins) 1. Pondering the poster Spend some time looking at the Caritas Solidiarty poster. Different members read out a paragraph each from the poster pausing after each one. Being in solidarity is recognising others as our brothers and sisters and actively working for their good. 2
From the food we eat and the clothes we buy, to the news we read and the websites we browse, we are connected to people and places all over the world. In our connected humanity, we are invited to build relationships whakawhānaungatanga to understand what life is like for others who are different from us. As a human family we commit to work together for the wellbeing of all to ensure everyone has what they need to live with dignity. We are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it our own and to take practical steps to alleviate it. Pope Francis How do the candles in the poster express solidarity between the two groups? Which statement from the poster best illustrates for you the way we need to work in solidarity with others for the common good? 2. Viewing the video Watch the Caritas Solidarity video on the participation in the Caritas Challenge by Marian College and Catholic Cathedral College, Christchurch 1. In the whole group read out the following explanation: Being in solidarity is recognising others as our brothers and sisters and actively working for their good. Marian College and Cathedral College students in Christchurch participated in the Caritas challenge in solidarity with Solomon Islands. During the Caritas Challenge, students participated in activities where they slept outside in basic shelters, carried water for long distances and did menial tasks to earn resources for building their shelter. The students held a prayer vigil for Solomon Islands and fundraised towards development projects taking practical steps to improve the wellbeing of our human family. Ask each person in the group to share with their neighbour: What stood out to you most in this video? Who in the video do you remember most? Who in the video inspired you? Why? What did the students learn to appreciate in taking part in this activity? What do they teach us about solidarity? Who are groups or individuals in our community who demonstrate solidarity in their actions? 5 minute break 1. available on-line at http://www.caritas.org.nz/resources/catholic-social-teaching/solidarity or on DVD from Caritas 3
JUDGE - WĀNANGATIA (40 minutes) 1. Searching the Scriptures Working in solidarity with others is a central part of our scriptural tradition. Group members take it in turns to read out quotes from Scripture from this Discussion outline or from a Bible, pausing after each one. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28 If one member suffers, all suffer together with it; if one member is honoured, all rejoice together with it. 1 Corinthians 12:26 Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me. Mark 9:37 I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you, because of your sharing in the gospel from the first day until now. I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ. It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because you hold me in your heart, for all of you share in God s grace with me, both in my imprisonment and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel. Philippians 1:3-7 Are there other Scriptural references which speak to you of solidarity? How does Christ s removal of distinctions between people link us together in our common humanity? How does one suffer if all members suffer? How did Paul live out his solidarity with other Christians? 2. Learning in the light of Catholic social teaching: Group members take turns to read out each of the following passages, pausing after each: I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security...more than by a fear of going astray, my hope is that we will be moved by fear of remaining within structures that give us a false sense of security...while at our door people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: Give them something to eat (Mk 6:37) Pope Francis: Evangelii Gaudium - The Joy of the Gospel (paragraph 49), 2013 4
The word solidarity... refers to something more than a few sporadic acts of generosity. It presumes the creation of a new mindset which thinks in terms of community and the priority of the life of all over the appropriation of goods by a few. Pope Francis: Evangelii Gaudium - The Joy of the Gospel (paragraph 188), 2013 Solidarity is a spontaneous reaction by those who recognize that the social function of property and the universal destination of goods are realities which come before private property. The private ownership of goods is justified by the need to protect and increase them, so that they can better serve the common good; for this reason, solidarity must be lived as the decision to restore to the poor what belongs to them. These convictions and habits of solidarity, when they are put into practice, open the way to other structural transformations and make them possible. Changing structures without generating new convictions and attitudes will only ensure that those same structures will become, sooner or later, corrupt, oppressive and ineffectual. Pope Francis: Evangelii Gaudium - The Joy of the Gospel (paragraph 189), 2013 Solidarity is also an authentic moral virtue, not a feeling of vague compassion or shallow distress at the misfortunes of so many people, both near and far. On the contrary, it is a firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good. That is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all St John Paul II as quoted in the Compendium of Catholic Social Teaching (paragraph 193) Solidarity is manifested in the first place by the distribution of goods and remuneration for work. It also presupposes the effort for a more just social order where tensions are better able to be reduced and conflicts more readily settled by negotiation. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (paragraph 1940) Why does Pope Francis challenge us to be a Church which risks being bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets? What is the relationship between solidarity and the common good? How can prayer help us develop solidarity as an authentic moral virtue? 5
ACT - MAHIA (15 minutes) Reflect personally on the following questions: What are some practical ways we can show solidarity with people in need? What changes can we make in our own lives so as to restore to the poor what belongs to them? How can we link in solidarity with people in the Pacific? What is one thing I will do differently in the next week? Choose one of these to share briefly with the whole group. CLOSING Prayer Protect and nurture your children Who lead us in your ways. Give us wisdom to see And humility to accept all you offer So that alongside our sisters and brothers We are made whole Rekindle in us your gift of service And do not let us be tempted to think That our effort is too small To make a difference Restore us to oneness with you And with all your creation So that our hearts are at peace with Your will and yearn only to follow it. Amen. (CAFOD) Close with the sign of the cross in English, Te Reo Māori and other languages of the group: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Ki te ingoa o te Matua, o te Tamaiti, o te Wairua Tapu. Āmene. 6